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March 26, 2024
2 Minute Read time

Flexible Workspace a key focus for UK offices

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More than half of UK landlords are looking to develop additional flexible workspace across their office portfolios, with more than three-quarters seeing an increase in demand for adaptable workspace in 2022 and 2023.

That’s according to research from the Instant Group, who found that 78% of landlords had encountered a rise in requests for flex office space with demand predicted to reach 50 million square feet by 2025.

Michael Porter, group sales director at leading moveable wall specialist, Style, agrees that demand for flexible office space continues to surge, with almost every new build office or refurb incorporating a greater level of adaptability than ever before.

“In both the shared, flex office sector, and for businesses looking at their own workspace, we are seeing a significant increase in demand for moveable, folding and sliding walls to enable office space to be quickly reconfigured based on the events taking place on the day and the number of staff coming in,” said Michael.

“According to Forbes, only 4.7% of employees worked from home prior to the pandemic; the office being the place to come to work.

“Now, 10% of employees work from home all the time and 29% work from home some of the time.

“As a result, how offices are being used has changed, and businesses and landlords are looking for a more fluid use of room and desk space, and this can be delivered by creating flexible working environments through moveable walls.

“In fact, many staff are often only coming into the office for meetings, training, workshops and team gatherings, and alongside our portfolio of moveable, folding and sliding walls we also offer a range of ‘working walls’ for the creation of collaborative workspace.

“These are floating panels that remove the usual barriers of meeting and training rooms, segregated work desks and cubicles, instead offering companies a space where individuals can group together, team up quickly on projects, share ideas and change their environment to suit the task in hand.

“Again this is something that has seen growth in demand in the last few years.”

Style is the UK’s multi-award winning, market leading moveable walls specialist and the exclusive UK partner to Dorma Huppe, Skyfold and SWG.

For more information, please contact your nearest regional Style office

2026 © Style Group

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Zero-Joint Technology in the Healthcare Sector

NHS England’s Health Building Note 00-09 states clinical surfaces should be “impervious, designed for easy cleaning and free of fissures and unsealed joints.”
  • Laser-bonded, adhesive-free edge, with no seam or adhesive strip
  • Designed in line with the surface characteristics HBN 00-09 describes for clinical areas
  • Formaldehyde emissions tested significantly below the EU's REACH formaldehyde limit, in effect from 6 August 2026

Why it matters

HBN 00-09 sets out these surface characteristics because unsealed joints are a recognised place for moisture and micro-organisms to collect. A genuinely joint-free edge is designed to address that specific detail.

This is a surface and edge specification, not a clinical claim. Zero-joint technology has not been evaluated or certified by NHS England, and does not claim to reduce infection rates.

Zero-Joint Technology in the Hospitality Sector

Guest-facing spaces and food-service areas face frequent hygiene inspections and heavy daily use — seamless panels help simplify housekeeping and keep finishes looking newer for longer.
  • Seamless edge finish, with no visible transition between edge and panel surface
  • 100% adhesive-free construction — no hot-melt adhesive layer to fail
  • Edge processing on all four sides, built for daily commercial use
  • Low-maintenance and easy to clean

Why it matters

Food-service and guest-facing areas are typically inspected under hygiene and housekeeping standards that look closely at surfaces and joints. A seamless, moisture-resistant edge is designed with exactly that kind of scrutiny in mind.

Every one of these sectors shares the same underlying surface problem: a bonded-strip edge is a seam, and a seam is a place where dirt, moisture or wear can concentrate in a way a continuous surface can't. Zero-joint technology addresses that one structural detail across offices, schools, healthcare and hospitality settings alike — one construction detail, one shared weak point removed, four sectors that each care about it for their own reasons.

Zero-Joint Technology in the Education Sector

Classrooms and shared facilities see high daily footfall from children and staff, so partitioning needs to withstand daily wear and support fast, thorough cleaning.
  • Seamless, adhesive-free edge with no strip to lift or wear loose over time
  • Moisture-resistant, low-maintenance surface
  • Independently tested for VOC emissions to AgBB and EN 16516

Why it matters

Schools see some of the highest footfall of any building type relative to their size, and surface durability directly affects how long fittings stay presentable between refurbishment cycles. A seam-free edge that can't lift or peel with repeated impact and cleaning is a genuinely lower-maintenance fixture over the life of the building.

Zero-Joint Technology in the Corporate Sector

Open-plan offices and meeting suites see constant daily use — surfaces need to look sharp for years without high maintenance.
  • Seamless edge finish, with no visible transition between edge and panel surface
  • 100% adhesive-free construction — no hot-melt adhesive layer to fail
  • Edge processing on all four sides, built for daily commercial use
  • Low-maintenance and easy to clean

Why it matters

An adhesive seam is one of the few places on a standard partition edge where dust, spillage residue or cleaning-product build-up can collect, simply because it isn't a flat, continuous surface. Removing that seam removes that particular weak point — a lower-maintenance fixture designed to stay looking sharp for longer.

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